Documentation. What a pain! You have so many more important things to do. But taking the time to document is a good practice that may save you a lot of grief later.

I know that most of you already know what I'm about to say, but you can share this with your "operations" management.

No. 1. Good documentation provides you and your managers with a record. That's a big deal in itself, and it becomes an ...

If you have a poor performer, is it better to make a clean break and fire him, or is it better to prolong his (and your) agony?

That is obviously a biased question, but some employers will do almost anything to avoid firing an employee, including the following:

• Nothing
• Issue 8 bazillion warnings but never act on them
• Offer a demotion, or a transfer to a less demanding job
• Let the employee ...

"An apple a day keeps the doctor lawyer away." Here are five easy and inexpensive things that employers can do to minimize their risk of being sued and maximize their chances of victory if they do get sued. None of these involve major expense, or even the use of lawyers.

1. Err on the side of treating your workers as (a) non-exempt and (b) "employees." Let this be your default ...

Often, when I get a call about a termination, the employee's boss has been primed to fire for weeks and is at wit's end by the time I hear about it. My job, along with that of the Human Resources representative who called me, is to talk the boss down, at least long enough to provide fair warning to the employee and to document the problems.

But every once in a blue moon, I will get the other type of ...

Last week's post about whether certain employees in the news deserved to be fired, in addition to generating some great comments from readers, got me thinking about firings in general.

I don't like to fire people. 

And I know what you're thinking -- then why in the world is she even an employment lawyer!?! She needs a new career! I know. I've fired a few people myself. And, of course ...

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Mark Twain

"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar." Abraham Lincoln

"A half truth is a whole lie." Yiddish Proverb

"Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind." Austin O'Malley

Q. "How do you know when a lawyer is lying?" A. "His lips are moving." Old lawyer joke. Har-de-har-har ...

One common employer practice that I have never liked is requiring employees who call in sick to bring in a doctor's note. I'm not talking about extended or recurring absences that would be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, or time off that would be covered under a short-term or long-term disability policy, or requests for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with ...